Revelations over Chess
by Minion Of Sekhmet
Summary: AU ending to The Last Stand. Mystique confronts Magneto in the park and several startling revelations ensure. MystiqueMagneto pairing.


**Revelations over Chess **

_A/N: I was rather annoyed at the way Magneto left Mystique behind after she was shot with the cure, and how X3 ended without them reconciling, and from that this fan fiction was born. _

_Disclaimer: Me no owney.

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He could see metal all around him, taunting and insulting him. So close, and yet so far. He had long given up on seeing metal move again, long given up on seeing his power return.

He prepared to pack the chess pieces away for another long day, wishing he could so easily shut away his memories: of triumph…of shame. Suddenly, a shadow fell over the board.

The dark haired women smiled down at him, acidly, and for a moment, time seemed to stand still.

But the second passed and time marched on. The woman sat.

"I did not expect to see you again, Raven," he said after a moment.

There was a flash of something in her eyes, something he could not read, but just as quickly as it had appeared, it was gone.

"You betrayed me!" he said. It was not a question.

"Betrayed? _Betrayed?! _That is rich, coming from _you_! I would have thrown myself in front of more than mere bullets or darts for you, Erik, yet you still left me there! I thought our…friendship was worth more than that." Her eyes had welled up with tears but then they sparked with anger.

His expression was unreadable, but she thought there was a hint of…regret? Sympathy? Even…shame?

"You've given up. I never would have thought that I would see the day when the great Magneto would ever just _stop_. Taken down by _homo-sapiens_!"

That issued a response.

"Do not call me that! We are them, Raven, humans. Weak. Powerless. Fragile. There is nothing to give up _on_. It died. Just like Magneto died. Just like Mystique died!" he snapped, his hand slamming down on the table, drawing startled looks from onlookers.

"That is where _you_ are wrong, Erik!" The woman smiled again and he saw something flash through her eyes again.

"That chess piece: move it!"

"Excuse me, Raven?"

"MOVE IT!" she roared, her hand slamming on the table now.

Frowning, he held out his hand towards the king.

"It is _not_ going to move," he stated calmly, but still he concentrated, still tried, with a merciless shaft of disbelieving hope coursing through him. She smiled slightly and that smile widened as the chess piece wiggled to one side slightly…

His hand dropped numbly, and a look of shock, triumph and disbelief crept across his face.

"You see, Erik? Magneto and Mystique are not dead. Not at all!" With a look reminiscent of a cat, she removed one of her gloves, after a wary look around. He started, gasping at the state of her hand.

The skin, instead of pale, was a deep blue, stark against the black and white of the board. The colour ended at the wrist, but there were signs it was spreading further along her arm. Dotted among the colour was the hint of scales forming.

"My dear…" he breathed, his eyes widening, deciding that the sight of the indigo skin was one of the most beautiful things he has ever seen.

"Magneto will be back soon, I take it?" she asked, her first real smile since she had entered the park firmly planted on her face.

"Indeed, my dear, indeed," he replied, taking her hand in his whilst his fingers rubbed smooth patterns on her flesh causing a look of pleasure to flash across her face.

"Mystique…I am sorry," he said quietly, softly yet it echoed deafeningly within her mind.

She shushed any further words from him and reached over, removed his hat and smoothed out his hair with her hand, working her way down to caress his cheek with it. They leant forward together and their kiss helped to heal the regret and pain, and signified forgiveness and new beginnings.

They broke apart, and once again time stood still.

However, inevitably, time moves on, but this time for the better. "Come, my dear, we have a war to wage, _again_," he said, rising from his chair.

She stood too and took his arm and they left together, heedless of the looks and whispers they attracted. The unlikely couple determined never to look back, ever again, for from this moment onwards, Magneto and Mystique shall wage war, together.

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_Finis_

_Please leave a review, this is my first X-Men fic, and I'd like to know now I did! ;)_


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